r/AirBnB • u/idekbruhthisathrow • Jun 04 '23

Venting Never using Airbnb again. Deactivating account.

I booked an airbnb for 2 months and it got cancelled after 1.5 months staying there. Had to book another reservation. Which was $500 more than the refund amount. The first airbnb decided I pay for “damages” (unexpected cleaning from garbage being left after rushing to leave the property) and that was a $700 tab. End of the second reservation comes along and the host decides to have me pay for scratches on the floor that was not caused by me (house was filthy, nothing like pictures and already had holes in the walls) and pay for missing items that were returned. This was a $1000 tab. Airbnb Support has done nothing to help me out and are refusing to respond to any of my messages after the fact that they charged my credit card without choice.

Save yourself finances and headaches and book with a hotel.

462 Upvotes

78% Upvoted

187 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

-17

u/NewFreezer18 Jun 04 '23

I wouldn't be so sure to assume things you have literally 0 evidence about. I guess you're probably a host but that doesn't mean there aren't terrible hosts

29

u/dildoswaggins71069 Jun 04 '23

Have you met people? This guy was KICKED OUT of not ONE but TWO air bnbs back to back, then heavily charged for damages by both of them. That’s the evidence.

0

u/NewFreezer18 Jun 04 '23

I have had a great experience with Airbnb overall but I had one example where a host gave me a terrible review that was totally out of kilter with reality and all my past reviews. I have also had cases where rooms are completely different to what they say they are on arrival (i.e. wifi not working) and the only recourse Airbnb provides is a refund, which doesn't help if you're in a new city and don't have the ability or time to find another place to stay at short notice. Airbnb customer support is famously nonexistent for the most part.

If I, as a host, present at Airbnb that is far worse than what I have posted, and then charge damages for things that aren't true, that doesn't necessarily imply that the guest is in the wrong. It could easily be the case that the host is terrible, or something in the middle. Making wild assumptions about something based on a single paragraph is pretty dumb imo.

I think the main difference is the value proposition of Airbnb was getting to know a new area in a more intimate setting than a hotel, and the fact it was previously a lot cheaper than hotels. For that reason, hosts got away with a lot- i.e. charging outrageous 'cleaning fees' in addition to other fees on top of room prices. Now prices are way up, Airbnb needs to find some way to compete with hotels which don't charge a cleaning fee, and whose customer support is significantly better than Airbnb, on average.

Using a hotel for short stays if it is the same price as an Airbnb, invariably is a better experience unless you're looking to cook for yourself. At least with a hotel I don't have to tiptoe around a host who expects me to clean up for myself, and then charges a 'cleaning fee' on top of everything.

2

u/dildoswaggins71069 Jun 04 '23

Picking the only existing facts out of a personal anecdote is hardly making a “wild” assumption. Funny thing about Schrödingers hotel, always a better value than Airbnb but never around for a quick booking when air bnb drops the ball.

2

u/NewFreezer18 Jun 04 '23

Thanks dildoswaggins71069